Eli C. Barnum was born in 1844 in Kent, Connecticut. After his father’s death in 1858, his mother moved the family to Bridgeport where Barnum became a clerk at a dry goods store. In 1868 he married Miss Eliza Ward of Naugatuck.

In 1869 Eli Barnum partnered with Calvin Hotchkiss in opening their own dry goods store. The building that housed the store was built and still stands at 100 Church Street. Barnum built a second building (at 90 Church Street) and a small street in between the two called Barnum Court. The Barnum Building would later house the Greenberg’s millinery shop. The Greenberg’s son, Adrian, would go on to become a famous Hollywood costume designer.

In the 1890’s Barnum partnered with other important Naugatuckians (Warner, Tuttle, Twitchell) to form the Naugatuck Water Company. The fledgling company grew rapidly and is responsible for bringing clean, sanitary water to all of Naugatuck. The Naugatuck Water Company would become the Connecticut Water Company we know today.